About 1,200 Palestinians were forced to leave their homes in Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, as the Israeli army launched a military operation, a Palestinian official said on Saturday. The operation followed an attack by Palestinian gunmen in which two Israeli soldiers were killed.
On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the army would launch a large-scale operation. The two soldiers were killed when two Palestinian gunmen opened fire at a military checkpoint near the city. The Israeli army said the two gunmen were killed by gunfire.
The army said the operation in the Al-Jalanda and Ain Deir Baha neighbourhoods, near the checkpoint at the entrance to Hebron, aimed to locate militants and weapons. In a statement, it also said it would carry out demolitions.
The Palestinian Authority condemned the operation, describing it as “collective punishment”.
Thousans risk losing their homes
Yousef Zuhair al-Jabari, head of the Hebron municipality, said about 1,300 more people were at risk of losing their homes, in addition to the 1,200 who had already been displaced. He also claimed the Israeli operations were being driven by Tuesday’s parliamentary elections.
The non-governmental organisation Palestinian Prisoners' Club said Israeli forces arrested about 70 Palestinians on Friday and Saturday. Israeli officials have not commented on the arrests.
Al-Jabari said the army had demolished shops, factories, homes and roads in Hebron, describing the response as disproportionate and unjustified. Residents of the city told Reuters that many people had been forced to leave their homes despite having no connection to the Palestinians who carried out the attack.
Across the West Bank, Israel has blocked the entrances to most Palestinian cities and towns, severely restricting Palestinians’ freedom of movement.
Source: CNA
